Our reader and fellow blogger Nemo has asked this question in one of the previous articles.

What happened?

Pre-history: Shortly before the Sochi Olympics Putin personally pardoned a former Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was serving a sentence on official charges of tax evasion and money laundering. Charges that didn’t make it into the court verdict were much more serious: Khodorkovsky and his crony Lebedev were about to secretly sell-out strategic Russian oil assets over which they took control in the ’90s, during the wholesale looting of what was all of Russian people’s common property.

Khodorkovsky was literally about to board the plane to the US, where he was to make the deal of the century – sell his company Yukos to the US oil interests. In exchange, he was promised an easy election and post of the Russian president. The idea was for him to preside over the completion of the demolition of Russia. The process of the demolition of the country was stopped in its tracks by Putin, and Khodorkovsky’s handlers couldn’t wait to get back on the destructive mode.

However, in his arrogance Khodorkovsky didn’t realize how much the Russian government knew about his plans. He was arrested and tried on the superficial and easily provable money laundering charges.

The real story of Khodorkovsky’s plan and his exposure constitutes one of the main themes of my mystical thriller THE EARTH SHIFTER. Read the book here. Excerpts are here. I also write about Khdorkovsky and other Russian oligarchs in ESR3: OLIGARCH WARS. A Russian oligarch is also one of the main characters in my thriller GOLD TRAIN.

The biggest proponent and intermediary for Khodorkovsky’s early release was Germany, including personally Merkel, citing Khodorkovsky mother’s poor health and other humanitarian reasons. The condition for his release was that he wouldn’t go back into politics. Both Khodorkovsky and his German guarantors swore to that. But then again, Germany swore in 1989, as Gorbachev allowed Germany’s reunification (over USA’s objections!) and as Soviet troops pulled out of Germany, that the unified Germany wouldn’t be a part of NATO…

Today:

Of course, the moment Khodorkovsky was out of jail, he immediately started talking about running for Russian presidency, interfering in Ukraine and rejoicing over anti-Russian sanctions.

Another thing he and his cronies, some of whom are hiding in Israel and others in London, have done was to re-initiate a multi-billion-dollar lawsuit against Russian Federation for restitution to Yukos shareholders.

This lawsuit was attempted several times before and EU courts threw it out every time. This time, however, the entire EU and US jumped on it as if it was an anchor to which they needed to hang on for dear life.

What was different this time? Simply put – Ukraine, Crimea, Donbass and anti-Russian sanctions. Yukos ‘shareholders,’ in fact a lot of shadowy entities, most of which were hiding behind bogus fronts, have their own interests. Their goal is to try to squeeze as much money as possible out of Russia after the nationalization of Yukos, following Khodorkovsky’s conviction. They have judged correctly that this time the Hague court would look favorably upon their claim for political reasons, and they were right.

No question, this lawsuit was suggested by the US and coordinated with the EU – the US fingerprints are all over its timing. Shortly after filing, the court in Hague delivers verdict: Russia is to pay Yukos shareholders $50 bln. Russia’s reply: we won’t abide by the decision of the court we don’t recognize.

As a result, Russian property and asset arrests and seizures began in France and Belgium. The amount cited is so far $1.3 bln. These include: arrests of bank accounts of the Russian companies with any stake by the Russian State, such as Rosneft; Russian Orthodox Church properties; Russian embassy, EU/Council of Europe representation diplomatic accounts.

Diplomatic accounts are illegal to seize in any country. If Russia wanted to escalate, such act could be construed as a declaration of war. Both France and Belgium ‘apologized,’ saying they have an absolutely and totally independent legal system; as such, they ‘didn’t know’ of the diplomatic accounts being seized and that they would release them.

Seizure of the Russian Orthodox Church property (such as Russian Orthodox places of worship) isn’t just illegal, since it’s not a property of the Russian State, but also despicable from the human and spiritual standpoint. It’s low even for them. Let’s recall that a similar war on Russian Orthodox Church property and threats against priests are taking place in Ukraine. All this appears to be a very well-coordinated action – and as my readers know, I am non-religious and therefore my point of view is neutral and detached. Read: Pope Francis and World Religions – Karma and Consciousness.

As to the property of the Russian banks and Russian companies, it’s more complicated. At present, Lavrov and other ministers announced they will use all legal means necessary to protest this decision and that companies can feel free to file claims in the Russian court, in return for which Russian court can seize appropriate assets of foreign countries in Russia.

Why Belgium and France?

This is a trial run, for now. They want to see how far they can get and what Russia’s response will be.

It’s interesting that at the very same time during the St. Pete Economic Forum, dozens of business leaders from all over Europe tripped all over themselves to assure Russia they wanted to continue doing business. Afraid for their properties in Russia? German business, as usual, was some of the most active during St. Pete forum.

Why is it being done?

Let’s face it, my early 2014 predictions that US/EU won’t achieve their goals in Ukraine, are coming true. Ukraine isn’t working out for them the way they wanted. Moreover, anti-Russian sanctions aren’t working either. Recall my prediction that in the long-run sanctions will be beneficial to Russia as they will stimulate sovereign innovation and production.

Let’s also face it, certain forces in the US and EU are livid. They can’t accept that things didn’t go their way and they want revenge. The pinprick of the Yukos decision is one of those pinpricks Russia, unfortunately, has to endure. Certainly, $50 bln isn’t a huge blow for Russia. Pinprick it is. It’s also a test: how will they respond? Can we dislodge them by doing it? Will Putin lose his cool?

And what if there are many other pinpricks coming at Russia at the same time? Can we make Russians completely lose it if we prick them from all directions? Let me remind everyone that that’s how WWI and WWII started – lots of humiliating pinpricks, resulting in countries losing their cool.

But Putin’s Russia isn’t Hitler’s Germany or Austria-Hungary.

That’s why all these NATO drills, deployment of thousands of tanks and other heavy machinery to Russia’s borders in Eastern Europe. It’s a bigger pinprick. Macedonia’s (FYROM) recent announcement that it will only allow Turkish Stream through its territory if EU agrees to it – is another pinprick. For more on what happened lately in Macedonia see: Macedonia Coup Attempt – War Against Russia & China (LRL12) and my upcoming LRL14 episode about Camp Bondsteel and Kosovo. Subscribe to Lada Ray Channel to keep on top of new videos.

However, this is still not all. The new attempted ‘electric maidan’ in Armenia (under the pretext of 16-17% hike in the price of electricity!) is yet another pinprick.

And the crowning pinprick achievement: Saakashvili as the governor of Odessa and subsequent attempts by Ukraine and Romania to re-ignite the Pridnestrovie conflict! I will soon have new LadaRayLive analytical episodes about that. Stay tuned for these new revelations.

Conclusions:

Everything is going the way I predicted. I warned from the start that US would not accept defeat, and wouldn’t look quietly as its power and dollar dominance are slipping away. Unlike the USSR in 1991, which disbanded quietly and peacefully, It would fight tooth and claw, trying to drag everyone with it into the abyss. I also said that USA’s prime directive is not only to weaken Russia and EU, but also put a wedge between the two, especially, between the what was a newly thriving relationship between Russia and Germany.

Will Russia lose her cool because of these pinpricks? Nope. Russia, as predicted from the beginning, will again achieve a slow change in her favor through quiet and peaceful means.

On my blog, I usually write my own analysis and predictions. However, this specific Venture Capital report by RT, Murder Incorporated, is worth listening to, and is, moreover, a confirmation of much of what I’ve been saying. The analysis of the decision by the Hague and Strasbourg courts, awarding $50bln to the former shareholders of YUKOS, is very well done by the first guest. The anti-Russian sanctions analysis is also on point, and confirms my diagnosis: 1. sanctions are more harmful to the EU, and potentially even US, than to Russia; 2. these sanctions, and the entire attitude by the West, accelerates the Russian turn to the East, away from the West.

YUKOS is the former company of the ex-Russian Jewish oligarch and ex-convict Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was released from jail on December, 2013, as a result of the Russian Presidential pardon based on humanitarian reasons. Incidentally, the main beneficiary of the $50bln YUKOS compensation would be another oligarch and Khodorkovsky’s crony, Leonid Nevzlin, who is wanted for 5 murders in Russia. Nevzlin managed to escape justice by fleeing to Israel, where he is presently hiding. He would be the recipient of the 70% of the $50bln judgement against the Russian State, should this ever come to pass. The recipients of the remaining 30% would be 4 other Russian oligarchs, hiding somewhere in London, I presume. Isn’t that nice! They want to keep it all in the family!

Leonid Nevzlin is wanted in Russia for authorizing the hit on the mayor of the oil-rich Siberian city of Surgut, and other high-profile hits. These were proven by witness testimonies and evidence. Many more hits were allegedly authorized by him, and by Khodorkovsky as well, which are hard to prove.

It has also been proven that the ex-CEO of YUKOS, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, bought the members of the Russian Duma and plotted a coup to overturn the Russian government, changing the Russian state structure. He and his cronies wanted to make Russia a parliamentary republic instead of the existing presidential republic – all this to unseat Putin, who even in mid-2000 was too big of a threat for the NWO and Transatlantists. At the time of his arrest, Khodorkovsky was supposed to fly to the US, where he was going to sell his stake in YUKOS, the Menatep bank, and other companies he owned together with his cronies, Platon Lebedev, Nevzlin and others. YUKOS at the time was the most powerful Russian oil company and the darling of Wall Street. Khodorkovsky’s plan was to deliver the Russian strategic asset – its oil industry – into the clutches of the US companies. Then, he wanted to take over the Duma and become the US-appointed head of Russia, much like Poroshenko of Ukraine is today.

The Russian government was able to defuse the situation based on the many economic crimes committed by YUKOS. YUKOS laundered billions through various offshore schemes and owed billions in taxes to Russia. This allowed YUKOS and Khodorkovsky’s prosecution based on economic crimes alone.

Why did the EU suddenly decide to resurrect the old lawsuit, which was thrown out previously by the EU courts, and why did they decide to jack up damages from previous $1.2bln to the arbitrary $50bln? Obviously, for political reasons. In the poor EU, torn between its survival & any semblance of reason – and the US pressure, the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing.

It appears, the schizophrenic EU lives according to the old proverb: “To spite my enemy I’ll kill my goat, so my kids would have no milk.” At least, that’s what the EU’s poking Russia with a hot stick of senseless $50bln in damages, together with anti-Russian sanctions, is saying.

Watch Venture Capital report from Red Square:

As some of you know, both of my novels about Russia, THE EARTH SHIFTER and GOLD TRAIN, contain important characters modeled after Russian oligarchs and their illegal activities.

One of the main characters of GOLD TRAIN is oligarch Yury Gurevich, who is modeled after real oligarchs I personally met, and also has the features of the infamous racketeers Boris Berezovsky and Leonid Nevzlin. In Gold Train, Yury Gurevich, supported by the US and UK, as well as certain forces inside Russia, finances and organizes the attempted antigovernment conspiracy in Moscow and St. Petersburg, which gets defused by FSB’s operative, Alexei, in cooperation with the American journalist with Russian roots, Jade Snow. Of course, the book is also about the stolen gold of the Russian Empire and is based on true historic events.

Boris Konukovsky, the oligarch depicted in THE EARTH SHIFTER, is even more interesting and multi-faceted. He is the derivative of the two real-life characters: YUKOS’s Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Boris Berezovsky, who had so incredibly hung himself – or rather was hung by his UK friends because he knew too much – in his house in London, shortly after he wrote a letter to Putin asking him for pardon and a return home.

The oil company resembling YUKOS in The Earth Shifter is called NORUS. Once a linguist, always a linguist – I couldn’t resist imbedding a code in this name: NORUS = not RUS.

The likeness of Leonid Nevzlin, who in real life authorized hits on those who resisted the YUKOS mafia expansion, in THE EARTH SHIFTER can be seen in the character of the head of NORUS security, Nestor Prokopenko.